smarter traveling, driving and spending
April 15th will be here before you know it. Here’s how to file your 2019 taxes for FREE online, even get free help preparing the documents, and a couple of low-cost options if you don’t qualify for the tax filing freebies. Note that some free services are not available to homeowners, taxpayers with itemized deductions,
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Scam Alert: Avoid a romance scam that will break your heart this Valentine’s Day, even steal your life savings. Scammers and fraudsters know that online dating websites see a surge in sign-ups between New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day, and the bad guys are busy trolling for lonely men and women, especially seniors living alone.
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The stats are in, and here are the most popular ecoXplorer posts of 2019. You are a smart group of followers who want to avoid being ripped-off, since most of the top posts are our “scam alert” advisories. And you are an eclectic bunch, since other top posts ranged from endangered animals to a kitschy
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Scam alert: You’ve heard the catchy jingle on radio and TV hundreds of times. But Kars4Kids is not what it seems. The car donation charity has been accused repeatedly of misleading donors and misuse of funds, and has settled numerous lawsuits for misleading donors and misusing funds. If you are considering donating Old Breakdown to
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The newest email scam is the one that says “check your order”, “your order status” or something similar, from businesses you are likely to shop, including Walmart, Costco, Target and Walgreens, and also from FedEx and NetFlix. I’ve gotten fraudulent emails from those scam senders in recent weeks, and maybe you have, too. The scam
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Scam alert. Protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft or a computer virus like ransomware, by avoiding fraudulent holiday emails from senders claiming to be Amazon, Paypal, Costco, Starbucks, Pandora and other well-known names. I’ve been getting a lot of those lately, as holiday shopping season gears up, and probably so have you.
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‘Tis the season to be jolly, and also to be victimized by holiday scams. Most scams are year-round, but the bad guys get especially busy around the holidays because they think we are more trusting of something that sounds too good to be true. Avoid these holiday scams. Cyber security tips for holiday shopping Check
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Political turmoil, blizzards and snowstorms that shut down airports in winter, hurricanes that shut down airports in summer and fall, computer outages, an injury or family emergency that prevents you from taking the trip you paid for. These are just some of the reasons to have travel insurance. There are more. The headline-making news of
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Top scams targeting seniors include identify theft, sweepstakes, home repairs, romance and investments frauds. Seniors lose an estimated $2.9 billion each year to financial scams, according to a Congressional report released earlier in 2019. The vast majority of cases of elder exploitation involve family members, aides and other trusted people. But strangers also prey on
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Scam Alert. Unfortunately, many cars and trucks flooded in hurricanes and other deep water disasters wind up for sale by unscrupulous dealers to unsuspecting customers. Here’s how to avoid getting soaked by buying a vehicle that is – simply – dangerous to drive. Electronics, including computer chips, hate water Since modern vehicles are heavy on
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